Whorled Milkweed 
9 
Fig. 5 — The rootstocks of whorled milkweed may extend to considerable 
depth in the soil. 
The stems grow in clumps from a crown and are un- 
branched. They are smooth, except for a minute pubescence, 
and light green in color. The bast fibre is strong and abundant. 
Their height varies from 14 inches to 4 feet. The leaves are 
in whorls, almost invariably three well-developed at each joint 
of the stem, tho four is not an uncommon number. Never has 
the author seen a stem of A. galioides in Colorado with more 
than four well-developed leaves at each joint, but the number 
is usually constant in any given stem. In the case of seedlings, 
(Fig. 6) the leaves are opposite for the first seven to fifteen 
nodes and then the whorl of three begins. The leaves are 
narrowly linear from 1^/4 inches to 4 inches in length and usually 
not over about % inch wide. The margins are somewhat revo- 
lute. They have a slightly drooping appearance in contrast to 
the stiff, upright, position of leaves of A verticillata. The color 
is a light, slightlv bluish green. Figure 7 gives a very good idea 
of the general appearance of the plant. 
The flowers are mostly borne in axillary umbels on pedicels 
from 1/2 inch to 1 inch in length and with from twelve to twenty 
flowers in a group. The individual flowers are greenish white. 
A group of blossoms at a distance resembles nothing closer than 
